more-in The Kerala Forest Department has launched a probe into the alleged parading of an injured elephant at a temple festival at Kakkanad. Tusker Kuttisankaran, owned by a Thrissur native, had a deep wound on one of its hindlimbs while the animal was paraded at the Pattupurakkavu temple here on Friday. The mahout, however, allegedly covered the wounds using charcoal. According to officials, the animal was weak and it even struggled to walk during the procession. On an alert by the volunteers of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a Forest Department team rushed to the spot and issued a warning against parading the sick elephant. The official warning, however, was defied when the animal was paraded during the festival later on the same day. Preliminary investigations revealed that the elephant had been given a fitness certificate by a Kochi-based veterinary doctor. “We have now directed the District Assistant Veterinary Officer to examine it again to ascertain how the animal was given a fitness certificate. Based on the finding, cases will be registered against those responsible for parading it in the temple festival,” said Anaz N A, Assistant Conservator, Social Forestry wing, Ernakulam. ‘No examination’ Meanwhile, the department has also approached the Kerala State Veterinary Council against the veterinary doctor who issued the fitness certificate to Kuttisankaran. In his letter, Mr. Anaz noted that there was a trend of issuing fitness certificate to elephants without examining the animal at all. The letter highlights an incident in which the same doctor issued a fitness certificate to an elephant in Changanassery in January this year, allegedly without physically examining it. “The veterinarian concerned here was present at the Ernakulam Siva temple in the morning and at the Nadakkavu temple later in the evening on that particular date. Hence, it was impossible for him to be physically present in Changanassery and examine the animal on the same day,” the letter said. Based on the letter, the council will hold a hearing on the issue at the Department of Animal Husbandry in Ernakulam on April 6.

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